Furniture glides are well known for fixation to the leg of an article of furniture to protect the end portion of the leg from damage, and further, to protect a floor surface from damage as a result of the furniture leg.
The conventional furniture glide typically employs a plastic bottom surface for contact with the floor to allow sliding of the furniture on a floor surface without excessive gouging or scratching of that floor surface. Furthermore, the conventional furniture glide spreads the mass of the furniture and any additional mass, for example, a person sitting in a chair, over a larger surface area to prevent denting or impression into the floor surface. Some furniture glides further employ a swiveling mechanism to allow the bottom of the glide to rest flat on a floor surface for varying angles of the furniture leg. The swiveling mechanism compensates for slight variations in the lengths of the legs of furniture, variations in the flatness of the floor surface, and splay in the legs of the article of furniture.
A conventional swiveling furniture glide requires at least three assembly operations for complete construction. In the first operation a tubular clip for gripping a furniture leg is inserted into a thin walled ferrule having a constant diameter. The top edge of the ferrule is then rolled or crimped to maintain the clip in position. In the second assembly operation a disc shaped support platform is mounted to the bottom of the ferrule. The support platform reinforces the ferrule and provides the structural support to hold the tubing of the leg. A rivet having on one end a rounded portion, and on the other end an expandable head, is inserted through aligned openings in the ferrule and support platform. The head of the rivet is expanded to fix the ferrule and support platform together. The rounded portion of the rivet supports a pair of nesting shells. In the final assembly operation a nylon base for contact with the floor, and a vinyl cushion, are installed by crimping the outer shell to the base whereby the cushion is between the rounded portion of the rivet and the base. The cushion absorbs the forces from changing weights on the furniture. The base allows the furniture to slide or glide along a floor surface.